Anyone who’s played soccer has dealt with a bad pitch at one time or another, be it from bad weather or negligent grounds keeping. It’s expected at the youth level, but it can be shocking at the professional level as well — which is why we’ve compiled this list of the worst football pitches of all time, the type of playing fields that terrify footballers.
The UEFA Champions League is the stage where the world’s finest footballers showcase their skills and ability. To play at this level, you need to be among the world’s finest. To play at this level for many years, you need to be one of the greatest of all-time.
Here are the ten players with the most appearances in the world’s most prestigious club competition.
In soccer, rivalries are an important part because playing a “Derby” or “Clásico” is a privilege. However, a special flavor to these duels is tasted when remembering those players who, without any remorse, put on the shirt of the hated rival and played for both teams. These are the authentic "Judases" of soccer that will remain in history for their controversial passage from one team to another.
Here we bring you the biggest players who played for the hated rival.
No sport does rivalries quite like soccer. In terms of proximity, history, passion and the genuine animosity these conditions create, the biggest derbies and grudge matches in world soccer make the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears look more like the World Stone Skimming Championship.
Historically speaking, there’s only ever been one correct answer to the question of a dream away day in the National Women’s Soccer League. As well as producing the sort of football that’s landed two NWSL championships, the Portland Thorns boast the division’s best atmosphere with an average attendance (we have to go back to 2019 to look at such things) of over 20,000 at beautiful Providence Park.
But I believe Portland has been usurped for three reasons: views, horse racing and bourbon.
Not long ago, the American soccer landscape was a barren wasteland devoid of talent. Americans either played for boring MLS teams or obscure European clubs, always moving laterally and rarely improving.
Kids these days have Christian Pulisic at Chelsea and Sergiño Dest at Barcelona. We had a promising central defender at Birmingham City that now works at a financial company. Man, they have it easy.
While the Premier League is ascribed to be the most talented league in the world, the EFL Championship might be as difficult, if not more so, than the English top flight.
In terms of talent, the Championship is just a small step below the Premier League and there is little disparity between the top and bottom of the table. 23rd place Birmingham has beaten second place Brentford and fifth place Reading this season, while Derby County beat Norwich then went winless for two months and dropped to the bottom of the table.
10. Looking for Eric (2009)
9. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
8. Diego Maradona (2019)
7. Green Street Hooligans (2005)
6. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
5. Africa United (2010)
4. The Damned United (2009)
3. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)
2. The Two Escobars (2010)
1. Next Goal Wins (2014)
With soccer tactics constantly changing, certain types of players are not always accommodated.
Roles like the libero, trequartista, striker partnerships and burly center backs have become, or are quickly becoming, outdated in modern football. Other roles like ball-playing goalkeepers, false nines and wingers that cut inside onto their stronger foot have become very trendy.
This often leaves current players wishing they had played in a previous decade and former players wishing their career had started a little later. Ah, what could have been.
The fighting spirit of Uruguay has enabled the country with a population of just 3.5 million (smaller than Connecticut) to collect two World Cup titles and the ninth-most wins in the tournament’s illustrious history. However, this combativeness has occasionally crossed the line, most notably in the collection of the fastest red card in World Cup history and Luis Suárez’s bite of Giorgio Chiellini.